Submachine Guns And Pdw Infobank

The Modern Sub Machine Carbine / MSMC submachine gun was born from the INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) program, which originally included three weapons - the 5.56mm INSAS assault rifle, the 5.56mm INSAS squad automatic / LMG, based on the rifle, and a compact carbine. The INSAS rifle and LMG are already in service with Indian armed forces, but the original INSAS carbine program faced several difficulties. As a result, it was decided to design a carbine around smaller round, based on the shortened 5.56mm cartridge. The new round appears to be of same concept that experimental American Colt MARS, as it has bottlenecked case 30mm long, loaded with light, pointed bullet with steel penetrator core. The bullet weight is 2.6 gram and muzzle velocity from 300mm carbine barrel is listed as 650 m/s, resulting in muzzle energy value of 550 Joules - similar to modern pistol cartridges. The cartridge, known as 5.56x30 MINSAS, offers effective range of about 200 to 300 meters, with good penetration against body armor. The early carbines for this round, known as MINSAS, were based on the INSAS rifle, lightened and scaled down for shortened round. The MSMC, however, derives from this by having more compact, pistol-type layout, which also offers better balance and better maneuverability, especially in confined spaces.
The Modern Sub Machine Carbine / MSMC submachine gun is intended for Indian Special Operation troops, but it also can make a good Personal Defense Weapon for vehicle and gun crews and other non-infantry personnel operating in combat zones. As of now (spring 2010), the Modern Sub Machine Carbine / MSMC submachine gun is in its final stages of T&E by Indian military.

The Modern Sub Machine Carbine / MSMC submachine gun is a gas operated weapon, utilizing rotary bolt locking and a gas piston, located above the barrel. The receiver appears to be made from sheet steel, with outer polymer housing with integral pistol grip. The magazines are inserted into the pistol grip. Buttstock is of telescoped type. Safety / fire mode selector is ambidextrous and conveniently located above the trigger. Standard iron sights are complemented by the Picatinny rail, which can host a wide array of additional day and night sighting equipment. Another unusual accessory for the Modern Sub Machine Carbine / MSMC submachine gun is the bayonet lug, which is located above the barrel, just in front of the receiver.

The UZI submachine gun was developed in Israel by designer Uziel Gal in around 1949, and manufactured by IMI (now IWI Ltd) since about 1951. UZI had been adopted by police and military of more than 90 countries, including Israel (now only in reserve), Germany, Belgium. It was also produced under license in Belgium by FN Herstal, and without license - in Croatia. More compact versions, Mini and Micro UZI,which were developed in 1982 and 1983, respectively, are adopted by many police, special operations and security units around the world, including Israeli Isayeret, US Secret Service etc.

An interesting question is the ancestry of the design of Uzi submachine gun.Most sources state that it was inspired by the Czechoslovak SA23 submachine gun, which also had magazine in pistol grip and wrap-aroundbolt. This submachine gun was adopted in 1948, with production commencing in 1949. There are some doubts that it could reach the shores of Israel the sameyear it was born. On the other hand, British army tested several prototype weapons of the same basic layout as early as 1944 (see MCEM-2),and it is possible that Uziel Gal had learned about this layout from UK. It is also possible that he "invented" this layout on his own - after all,the very same basic layout has been used in semi-automatic pistols for a good 50 years.

The UZI submachine gun is blowback operated weapon which fires from open bolt.Mini- and Micro-Uzi submachine guns are produced either in open-bolt or closed-bolt versions; in the latter variation, weapon is equipped with separate striker and additional spring. The receiver is made from stamped steel, with trigger unit and pistol grip pinned to its bottom at the center. The bolt is of "wrap-around" type,with most of its weight located in front of the breech face. The Micro-Uzi has an additional weight, made from tungsten, attached to the bolt, to slightly slowdown the overly excessive rate of fire. The cocking handle is located at the to pof the receiver cover, and does not move when gun is fired; the cocking handle slot is covered by sliding dust cover. Bolt handle is cut at the middle to provide a sighting channel. Gun is fitted with manual safety /fire selector, located on the left side of the grip, plus automatic grip safety at the rear. Full-size Uzi submachine guns were fitted either with a detachable wooden shoulder stock, or with under folding metallic shoulder stock of indigenous design. More compact Mini-Uzi and Micro-Uzi are fitted with side-folding metallic buttstocks made from steel.

FN P90 personal defense weapon / submachine gun gun (SMG) was developed in the late 1980s as a personal defense weapon for the troops whose primary activities does not include small arms, such as vehicle and tank crew members, artillery crews etc. Standard pistols and submachine guns chambered for pistol rounds were proved ineffective against enemy soldiers, wearing body armor; Therefore FN designers first developed a new round with enhanced penetration, initially known as SS90. To achieve necessary high penetration while keeping recoil impulse low, FN used a small-bore approach, creating a round that looked much like the scaled down 5,56NATO round.

It must be noted that similar concepts were tried in other countries, most notably in USA, several decades before FN; for example, US Army tested M1 carbines chambered for .221 Johnson Spitfire round back in late 1950s; later on, Colt produced its .22 SCAMP and 5,6x30 MARS ammunition for special SCAMP machine pistol and MARS "mini assault rifle" (a scaled-down M16 rifle) respectively. It must be noted that 5,6x30 MARS round was in a sense a direct predecessor to 5,7x28 FN SS90 round, although the latter featured slightly lighter and faster bullet. By late 1980s a concept of a small-bore, low-impulse "personal defense weapon" (PDW) with good accuracy and lethality at ranges of up to 200-250 meters was well established, although there were no weapons adopted for service yet. FN decided to follow this concept and to create its own PDW using clean sheet approach. Basic ideas used for this development, designated as "Project 9.0", included the following: minimal size and weight of weapon; large magazine capacity; complete ambidexterity; ease of use and maintenance.